Scenic view of a snow-capped mountain behind a tree line on the WSU Vancouver campus grounds at dusk
WSU Vancouver

Marketing and Communications

Amplifying the WSU Vancouver Story

WSU Vancouver Marketing and Communications serves as the central hub for campus storytelling, brand management, and strategic outreach. Our primary mission is to drive enrollment growth and elevate the university’s profile through professional advertising, social media engagement, and public relations. Located in the Dengerink Administration Building, our team provides the creative strategy and technical expertise needed to connect the campus with the wider community.

We partner with departments to develop compelling messaging, high-quality graphic design, and effective web updates. Whether you are launching a recruitment campaign, promoting a public event, or sharing research breakthroughs, we ensure your message reaches the right audience with clarity and impact. From media relations to internal branding tools, we provide the resources necessary to uphold university standards while celebrating our unique campus achievements.

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For the Campus

We offer marketing strategy, messaging, copywriting, graphic design, and web updates from our home in the Dengerink Administration Building. We help departments promote public events, refresh web content, and broadcast important internal stories.
A small group of students sitting on steps outside a brick building

For the Media

We provide news releases, a photo library, an experts guide, and a campus fact sheet from our home in the Dengerink Administration Building. We help journalists coordinate faculty interviews, secure media permits, and track local breakthroughs.
Contact us
Email Address van.website@wsu.edu
Phone (360) 546-9601

Web Communication

Brand Standards & Web Resources

Photo policy

The Office of Marketing and Communications has limited photography resources on staff, dedicated to capturing striking WSU Vancouver images that can be used to support the university’s broader communications and recruitment marketing efforts.

The Office of Marketing and Communications maintains a large archive of photos available for public use on Flickr.

Browse Flickr Photos

How to download from Flickr:

  • Click on the image, then click on the Download arrow at the bottom right.
  • Click “View all sizes” and select your preferred dimensions.
  • Right-click and choose “Save image as” to your desktop, or click the “Download” link.

Requesting custom or high-res files:

You may contact our office to request a specific pre-existing photo. To help us find it, please include as much detail as possible, such as:

  • The subject of the photo
  • The approximate date and location it was taken
  • The photographer’s name (if known)
  • A URL link (if you are requesting a high-resolution version of an image you saw online)

The Office of Marketing and Communications has limited photography resources on staff. Custom photo shoots may be scheduled based on photographer availability and strict relevance to core university marketing priorities: student recruitment and enrollment.

Staff resources are dedicated to capturing striking WSU Vancouver imagery that directly supports the university’s broader communications and recruitment marketing efforts.

We provide photographic coverage of noteworthy events taking place on the WSU Vancouver campus. Because of the high volume of campus events and limited staff resources, we can only cover a select number of high-priority events.

What we cover:

Decisions about which events to cover are made solely by the Office of Marketing and Communications. Selection is based on the uniqueness and newsworthiness of the event, and its potential to provide striking imagery for broader university communications and recruitment efforts.

What we do not cover:

In general, our office does not photograph:

  • Internal department activities
  • Awards ceremonies
  • Staff or faculty receptions and retirement parties
  • Student club or student organization events

Need a freelance photographer?

If we are unable to photograph your event, we can help you select a trusted freelance photographer at your department’s own expense. We highly suggest contacting freelance photographers at least two weeks prior to your event.

Headshots and group portraits

If time allows, we provide occasional photographic services to individual faculty and staff members who need quality portraits, or to departments requiring group shots for university-related marketing and communications.

  • Notice required: We appreciate as much advance notice as possible; a minimum of two weeks is ideal.
  • Delivery: We will provide the subject(s) with a digital copy of the image for departmental and personal use.
  • Note: We do not provide photographic printing services.

Required photo credit

Photos taken by marketing and communications staff may be used in external publications with proper permission.

Please use the following credit line

Photo credit: WSU Vancouver Office of Marketing and Communications

Website guidelines

The WSU Vancouver Office of Marketing and Communications manages the WSU Vancouver website. We are excited to work with you to make WSU Vancouver’s website popular and useful.

If you need to make changes to your pages, such as adding or editing content, please contact marketing and communications.

Our web guidelines follow a set of best practices outlined by our consultants, SEM Works, in their Enrollment Management Plan. An institution’s web presence should incorporate six fundamental elements: a compelling value proposition, key selling points, audience relevance, audience engagement, calls to action, and visual impact.

When updating your pages, it is especially important to address the following elements:

  • Audience relevance: Address each primary student segment in a way that resonates with them and compels them to act. Student quotes, success stories, testimonials, and job placement data are highly valuable for academic departments.
  • Calls to action (CTAs): Clearly define what you want prospective students to do when they visit your pages. The three most critical calls to action are to request information, visit campus/your department, and apply.
  • Value proposition: Concisely convey through text and visuals what you promise to do for the students you serve, focusing primarily on student outcomes.
  • Selling points: Highlight the specific factors that distinguish your program from its competitors.
  • Audience engagement: Keep visitors immersed by using highly relevant content, imagery, and appropriate multimedia.
  • Visual impact: The WSU Vancouver site uses a clean look with minimal, high-impact copy. Please let us know if you have specific photography or videos to recommend for your pages.

WSU Vancouver uses a variety of partner, CRM, and analytics data to steer the information architecture of our website.

Google Analytics is installed on all live pages to track traffic frequency, user behavior, and historical trends. This data is heavily weighted when making design, content, and navigation decisions across the WSU Vancouver website to ensure an optimized user experience.

All electronic information and digital content published on the WSU Vancouver website must provide equitable, inclusive access and strictly comply with university policies and legal standards.

Compliance Standards

Required Training & Support

Under WSU Policy UPPM 10.45, all employees who create, edit, or publish digital content are assigned a designated website accessibility role and are required to complete the Digital Accessibility Assessment annually via Percipio.

For foundational overviews, step-by-step guides, and core concept training sheets, visit the university-wide hub at WSU Digital Accessibility.

For localized web publishing support, open labs, and current technical updates, please consult the resources at WSU Web Communication Digital Accessibility.